Chapter 11

Bare feet slapping quietly against the polished hardwood floors, Jean made her way stealthily down the dark hallway from her bedroom, pausing periodically to listen to the night-time sounds of the mansion and searching for any indication that anyone else was up and about at this late hour. She reached the head of the stairs and stopped, listening for any indication that she'd woken anyone. Satisfied with the silence, she continued down the stairs, and through the main floor corridor, noting absently that the grandfather clock read almost 1:30 am.

Jean finally arrived at the darkened kitchen, and entered without turning on the light. The hum of the refrigerator motor was the only sound in the room. Trailing her fingers lightly along the counter-top, she guided herself to the cabinet that held her favorite cups, and selected one blindly. She then continued her path to the fridge, grasped the cool handle and gently pulled the door open. The seal hissed slightly as it released, and light spilled out from within, illuminating the kitchen. Jean leaned inside, scanning the contents of the fridge.

"Midnight snack?" a voice asked from the darkness behind her.

Jean yelped in surprise, jumping back and hitting her butt against the door and her head on the underside of the freezer, rattling everything inside. Her plastic glass clattered to the ground, and she could hear the sound of a chair scraping against the floor. "Dammit," she muttered softly, picking up the cup quickly to keep it from making any more noise. She hoped it hadn't been enough to awaken Logan; with his supersensitive hearing, he'd caught her mid-kitchen raid on more than one occasion.

"Are you ok?"

Jean turned around to see Scott standing awkwardly behind her, one hand on the table, the other on the back of his chair. He had obviously stood quickly, worried, but didn't know how to go about helping.

"I'm fine. You just scared me. I didn't know anyone else was up," she told him in a voice barely above a whisper.

Scott cocked his head to the side and tried to fight the smile that was twitching at his lips. "Sorry," he replied as he sat back down.

Turning back to the fridge, she reached in and pulled out a carton of milk. "'S ok," Jean mumbled. After replacing the milk, she rummaged through the cupboards until she came up with her prize – a new bag of chocolate chip cookies. She was about to tell Scott good night and go back up to her room, but when she glanced over at him, she stopped mid-step. He looked so lonely, sitting by himself in the dark kitchen with nothing but a half empty glass of milk in front of him.

"Want some company?" Jean asked softly. Eyes now adjusted to the lack of light, she could see the corners of Scott's lips turn upward in a small smile.

"Sure."

 Jean hesitated only a second before walking over to the table and pulling out the chair next to Scott's. Jean busied herself opening the package, and grinned in triumph as the smell of fresh cookies wafted out of the bag. "Mmmmmm, a fresh bag is always the best. Want some?"

"What kind are they?"

"The only kind that matters…"

"Chocolate chip," they finished together, Scott's a question, Jean's a statement. The two teenagers chuckled, pleased to discover they had something in common, other than being mutants.

Jean got up and went back to the counter, returning with two small plates. She placed a pile of cookies on each plate, and slid one towards Scott, making sure that it touched the tip of his fingers so he'd know where it was. "Here," she told him. "If you want more, the bag's at your 12 o'clock."

"Thanks," Scott said, though he didn't need her to tell him; he'd been able to sense her movements, so he knew exactly where everything was. He was grateful Jean had decided to stay; he hadn't had a chance to really talk with her since he arrived. Seeing as they were the only two kids at the Institute, he figured they should get to know each other and try to become friends.

They munched the cookies in silence for a few minutes before Jean grew uncomfortable with the quiet. Although they'd been living under the same roof for more than a week now, this was the first time she had spent any time alone with Scott since she gave him a tour his first day at the Institute. She still wasn't really sure how to act around him.

"What are you doing up, anyway?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"How come?"

Scott seemed to ponder that for a minute. "Too quiet, I guess. I'm not used to having a room to myself yet. There were ten of us in one big room back at Essex House."

Jean made a face that was lost on Scott. "Yuck, that would drive me nuts. I couldn't stand sharing a room with that many people."

"It took me a while to get used to it, but after a while it was no big deal. I used to share a room with my little brother…" Scott trailed off, the memory saddening him.

Jean was suddenly assaulted by images of a small, blond-haired little boy, and overwhelming thoughts of regret and loss. These in turn conjured up her own memories of Annie, her long-lost friend. Inhaling sharply, she pushed away memories of two lost children and refocused her shields to block out Scott's projected thoughts. Jean swallowed the lump in her throat and tried her best to sound chipper, in an effort to cheer him up. "I would've hated sharing a room with my older sister. We're just too different."

"Do you get along?"

She snorted inelegantly, and Scott laughed. "With Sara? Not really. It's not that we hate each other, we just don't have anything in common other than being sisters. Of course, I haven't talked to her much since I came to the Institute. Or to my parents, for that matter."

"Are your parents bothered by the fact you're a mutant?" Scott prodded, curious.

"That's one way of putting it, I guess," Jean admitted. "They don't like having a freak for a daughter. They don't call me very often any more, once every week or two. I only ever see them at Christmas, and that's just so much fun." Scott could imagine she was rolling her eyes with that last comment. "Of course, I don't think they took the whole mutant thing any harder than I did, so I can't be too mad at them," she finished.

"You didn't like finding out you were a mutant?"

Jean barked out a laugh. "That would be the understatement of the year. I hated it. I thought mutants were freaks, and I didn't want to be a freak. It took me a long time before I got comfortable with it."

"You're ok with it now, though?"

Jean wobbled her head back and forth in an undecided manner, but then remembered that Scott couldn't see her. "I've accepted it more than I had a year ago, and some days are better than others. I don't hate the fact that I'm a mutant, but that doesn't mean I don't wish I were normal sometimes. How 'bout you? How're you adjusting to your new gift?"

Scott sighed. "I don't know. It's still so new, y'know? I'd feel a whole lot better about everything if I knew I'd be able to control the blasts eventually. I don't like the idea of not being able to see again because of my gift.  But I think my parents probably would've been ok with me being a mutant," he admitted softly.

"Do you miss them a lot?" Jean asked, matching his tone of voice.

He nodded silently and ate another cookie with a crunch.

"Stupid question, sorry," she muttered.

"It's ok."

"Well, one thing is for sure, you're part of a family here. The professor, Hank, Logan, Ororo, they're all amazing. I don't know what I'd do without them. They're my real family…and now you will be, too," she told him, trying to make him forget the hurt of his lost parents and brother.

Scott had to admit that the thought of having a family again, even one as unique as the one he now found himself a part of, warmed him. "So, why're you up?" he finally asked.

Jean took a bite of another cookie and chewed for a minute before answering. "Couldn't sleep," she told him absently.

Scott smirked at his own words being thrown back at him. "How come?"

"I don't know."

"Liar."

Jean's jaw dropped and she stared at Scott in surprise. Was he teasing her? It sounded like it, but his teasing lacked the maliciousness she was used to from the kids at school. She stared at him, noticing the slight smile on his face.

"You know why you can't sleep, you just don't want to talk about it," he told her. "That's ok, you don't have to tell me."

Still unsure what to make of Scott, Jean finished eating her cookie, washing it down with a gulp of milk. Life's made up of taking risks, right? That's what Logan's always telling me, she thought to herself. Ok, let's take a risk.

She confessed softly, "I can't sleep because I'm worried about starting school again next week."

Scott was surprised that she answered him, and he jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. "Why?" he asked.

Jean sighed. "I hate school."

"Why?" he repeated.

"I just do."

"Why?" he asked again, starting to feel very much like a parrot. "I got the impression you were pretty smart. I thought you'd do great in school."

"It's not that. I get good grades; I'm actually at the top of my class," she admitted.

"So why do you hate it?"

"It's a snotty all-girls school and everybody except for the teachers hates me," she blurted out at last.

Scott was taken aback by the honest response. "Why do you think that?"

"It's not what I think, it's the way it is."

Her voice sounded so defeated, and he didn't have a clue what to say to make her feel better. Scott opted to change to subject. "At least you get to go to school. I'm gonna be stuck here every day because Professor Xavier doesn't think it's safe for me to go to a normal school."

"I'm sure he just wants your powers to be under control first. He did the same thing to me," Jean reassured him, studying him carefully. The silver duct tape was still across his eyes, and she couldn't help but think how uncomfortable it must be for him. "Can I ask you something?" At Scott's nod, she continued. "Why do you keep the tape on your eyes? It's got to be really uncomfortable, and I'm sure the professor could come up with something more comfortable for you until Hank finds a permanent solution."

"This is the only thing I trust. Professor Xavier offered to give me some kind of blindfold, but I'd always be worried about it falling off, or coming loose. I don't have to worry about that with the tape. Besides, it's not that bad." But even as Scott said the words, he raised his hand and scratched under the edge of the tape.

"Sure," Jean scoffed, drawing out the words. "It looks really comfortable."

Scott grinned guiltily, knowing he was caught. "Ok, it sucks. It's annoying and itchy, and it feels exactly like you'd imagine it would to have duct tape stuck to your face."

Jean laughed openly at Scott's sheepish expression, and Scott was struck suddenly by what a wonderful sound it was. It made him smile just to hear it, and he had no explanation as to why it should affect him like that. He pushed the feeling aside for the moment, making a mental note to examine it later.

"How much damage have we done to that bag of cookies?" Scott asked, finishing another of the treats.

"More than half the bag," Jean told him with a giggle. "We're going to be in so much trouble."

"We can't get in trouble if there's no evidence," he said slowly, smirking.

Jean grinned, catching onto his meaning.  "And just what are you suggesting?"

"I think it's pretty obvious."

"We eat the evidence," they said together before bursting into smothered laughter.

"I don't know, Scott. That's a lot of cookies," she said thoughtfully between snickers. "Think you're up to the challenge?"

"Bring it on, Jean, bring it on."

They finished the bag and washed their midnight snack down with fresh glasses of milk. Both of them felt vaguely ill from eating so many cookies, but refused to admit it to the other, not wanting to reveal any sign of weakness.

"What about the package?" Scott asked, concerned about the evidence they couldn't consume.

"I'm on it," Jean assured him. He heard her chair scrape lightly as she stood, and he sensed her move away from the table. A moment later he heard rustling and crinkling, followed by what sounded like a cupboard door closing, and more rustling.

"What did you do?"

"Buried it. Literally," Jean replied, obviously pleased with her own resourcefulness. "It's at the bottom of the garbage, which I put in a bigger garbage bag, which I will now take out to the garage. Nobody will ever find it."

"You're sneaky. I'm impressed," Scott told her with a grin.

Jean disappeared for a minute, taking the garbage out as she'd planned. When she returned, she washed her hands, rinsed their cups and plates and put them in the sink. "I guess we should try to get some sleep."

Nodding, Scott stifled a yawn. "Probably. What time is it, anyway – around 3:00?"

"Very good internal clock. It's 3:05," Jean confirmed.

They walked down the hallway in silence, Jean leading Scott by the hand. Even though he no longer needed anyone to guide him through the mansion, he allowed her to lead him. For some reason, Scott didn't mind.

Jean led them to Scott's room, and released his hand. She felt awkward all of a sudden, and she wasn't sure why. She didn't quite know what to say; luckily she didn't need to worry.

"Thanks for keeping me company, Jean," Scott whispered.

"You're welcome. It was fun," she admitted.

Scott smiled broadly, and Jean smiled in return. She thought he had a very nice smile.

"Do you think you'll be able to sleep ok?" he asked.

"I hope so. You?"

Nodding, Scott smiled softly. "It's weird, but it doesn't seem so quiet here, now."

"Good. G'night, Scott."

"G'night."

Jean turned and headed down the hall to her own room when she was stopped by another whisper.

"Oh, and Jean?"

"Yeah?" she called back, her voice still hushed.

"Don't worry too much about the kids at school. You may not have many friends there, but you've got one here." Before Jean could reply, he slipped into his room and closed the door behind him.

Jean stood in the dark hallway, staring at the closed door, smiling. She had a friend.

~~

Coming soon, Chapter 12

Feedback is always appreciated!